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Monday, 22 December 2014

Before we begin in earnest with the awesome I want to tell you all about this festive season for us. As you might know The Ion Age is one part of a bigger family that also includes the mighty www.alternative-armies.com and the hugely popular www.15mm.co.uk. Its been a busy year for us; increasingly so. In fact we have all been working six or even six and a half days a week since the late summer and now we have taken on more staff too. We have experienced a surge in demand for everything that we make from miniatures in 15mm scale to miniatures in 28mm scale as well as resin vehicles and terrain, pro-painted miniatures and armies and also books. As a result we had been a little behind on shipping out orders (normally we ship our four or five days week). We are taking a break for a few days for Christmas and the seasonal closure of the freight companies and the post office but deliveries will commence once more as soon as things return to normal. Let me take this chance to thank you all for your support this year and always. 2015 is going to be an epic year and for us at The Ion Age we want to commence with rounding up this annum and a pat on the back...read on.

Everything we have in 15mm scale with no duplicates!

What a Year 2014 Has Been....

We took a few hours off from the constant work that has been our duty for this month and decided to take a series of photographs of our display scenery set up with virtually every code in our 15mm scale range. Why? Well We wanted to show you compared to this time last year, here is the link to the Round Up 2013 posting on our blog, how much we had grown and in how many directions. To that end each of these photos has a caption telling you what it is showing. The display itself is some three and a half feet wide and we filled it!

The Left Side of the 2014 Round Up

The Centre of the 2014 Round Up

The Right Side of the 2014 Round Up

A length wise view of the 2014 Round Up

In 2014 we have released another twelve monthly free miniatures in the IMP series, we have expanded from some ninety miniatures to over one hundred and fifty. From a few Battlesuits and Bikes we now have over a dozen vehicles from the small to the medium including the Adder series and the Mullo as well as the Skylark. We had our Hab Dome but now we have some twenty different pieces of terrain which are able to create a whole Hab Complex. We have met our expansion goal for 2014 for the Prydian Army.

The next year will bring lots more and in several directions of releases too. It is our plan to finish the creation of all of the original 28mm Ion Age miniatures into 15mm scale with the Planetary Militia. This will be a force with its own infantry, its own battlesuits and vehicles suitable not only for our own space opera setting but also near future as it represents the defence forces of a planet rather than galaxy fairing knights. With that achieved we will enter my own goal for the next year which is to take The Ion Age in new directions with miniatures with two new factions entering the fray that are totally new. Each will have its own infantry, vehicles and so on. I can confirm here that the first faction will be far future Chinese style Zin who are traders and explorers. Concept art exists now for this range and its looking really fine with unique ideas and style. Jade Ape Battlesuits anyone? The second faction is not yet finalised but it will not be Human and will be a foil for not only the Prydian Army but also the Khanate Empire too. The first look and news at the Planetary Militia is in early January.

The awesome nature of the miniatures is down to our team of designers led by Sam Croes but my own commitment to The Ion Age has been in the realms of fiction and communication and in one aspect of this...I failed. Why you ask? Well the answer is Patrol Angis. I had hoped to get the first book out already but that has not happened so I estimate first quarter 2015 for it. Patrol Angis is a skirmish focused rules set for one platoon or so a side so it can be played in less than an hour. It can go bigger though and the play testing was carried out by more than twenty hard core 15mm science fiction wargamers over six weeks. Its a 15mm scale game and its initial book release will focus on infantry actions with Battlesuit and Portable Weapon support during the Prydian Civil War. That is the Prydian Army against Marcher Barons so you can use all of the core Prydian Army miniatures with it. About twenty miniatures a side and we will be selling complete platoon or lance packs each with a unique miniature in it. Its focus is what happens when one recon force encounters another in open ground. Its a starting place and it mattered to me that my own sons could play it with not much study. Its low intensity and easy to get into. I want a game system that has not only great and fun rules (which they are, they work really well) but also a damn good read too with a compelling back story and that takes time to do. We have just been too busy.

We had such an epic response to the Habitation Colony range back in November that it out shone the original Hab Dome that kicked it off. Its our plan to move into buildings and such that would be 'small town' as well as our existing outpost or moon base type items. All of this year we have been training up and ramping up our resin production plant and we plan to create more medium and perhaps even heavy vehicles in 2015. Perhaps even things on legs not tracks; you will have to wait and see. If anyone wants to keep up with what we are doing on a week by week basis with The Ion Age I recommend sticking with this blog as it is where the gossip and news is.

I am confident that when we look back to this posting in a year the change will be even greater than in the last twelve months. Thank you all for your support, for your faith in us and for wanting a wargaming style and setting that is more than the usual thing. We will not let you down!

Festive Season Offers during December 2014

We are taking a few weeks off making new releases (one per week for a year is very impressive I am sure you will agree) but we have a few offers for you too that will last until the end of the month while IMP16 Chrimbot is the free miniature in every order automatically. Here are the details, prices already changed on the website no code needed, and remember there are no more releases until January:

IAF041 Corbal Deployable Hardpoint (all codes) 10% Off!

IAF023 Fallen Havelock 10% Off!

IAF032 Fallen Duxis 10% Off!

IAF037 Smashed Adder Combat Car 10% Off!

IAF013 Murdo and Galaine 10% Off!

IAF031 Duxis Drone and Pilot 10% Off!

IAF018 Legionary 3rd Tesseran Maia Mpi 10% Off!

IAF019 Legion 2nd Pioneers Flora 10% Off!

All of these offers are on our Early Supporter Page. Treat yourself during your December order with us until months end.

Information Burst

Beep Beep! I am a robot. Well not really but it seems you all dig our festive fellow the current monthly free miniature IMP16 Crimbo Bot sculpted by Sam Croes. Lovely is it not. Makes you want to destroy all Humans. You can also buy it on its own too during this month. Removed on 1st January 2015 there is one free automatically in every order placed with us. There is no other news just now apart from the work we are doing on the upcoming Planetary Militia range. This is the last part of our Prydian Army structure before we bring in the new factions in 2015 and its nearly ready. There will be a detailed post about this on our blog in the new year but as a wee reward for reading this far I will tell you that there will be several new vehicles and a battlesuit the primary vehicle being a six wheeled APC called the Colobreta. Its near future but its got a hint of off world and colony to it as well; perhaps even the most mega of cities as well. Here is a wee picture to enjoy for the moment.

Finally remember that by placing an order with us you will sign up for an account with the website and that means you get Reward Points in all purchases (plus the monthly free miniature). These points can be used any time to get free products and discounts on orders.

So as we say here in Scotland “Hae yersel a merry Christmas an a guid new Year”!!!
See you all 2015!

Thursday, 4 December 2014

“While part of the military ranks of the Prydian Army the honoured role of a Knight Errant is often aloof from the mainstay of its ranks. There have been many text written on the reasons for taking up the sword and armour of the Knight Errant discussing why a man or a woman who has served many campaigns in the Retained feels the urge to leave their fellows and begin the Quest. The quest is among the most daring exploit that a Knight can undertake an it takes many forms. Reasons given are personal valour, personal loyalty, personal betrayal as well as love and adventure. This can cause Regiments a staffing problem but it is generally looked upon favourably by commanders who will, once the quest is proven, aid the Knight in its starting stages of undertaking. While many Knight Errants will leave the front lines and travel alone or in small groups some remain and continue to lead Lances and Banners in battle while the goal of their quest is in conjunction with the goal of the Regiment. Knight Errants have typical combat gear and armour but often are more experienced in the arts of war and are certainly more driven by their desire to complete their quest. It is not unknown for Knight Errants to be found on remote worlds and colonies aiding local Planetary Militia troops with their own conflicts while upon the quest. A few Knight Errants of exceptional bravery and fame will be invited to join the ranks of the Starvaulters and to take part in their Great Quests. The auto-trainer series has many thousands of recorded quests which the student can access upon request. “

Academy Auto-Trainer Series 05, New Glastonbury, 4322IC

IAF057 Knight Errants of Prydia

Our first code of noble knights for commanding your forces! While they are of Prydia with a different uniform they could be any of the numerous Marcher Barons too. Code IAF057 contains three unique miniatures dressed in Alwite powered armour. The female Noblesse who is bare headed and armed with a Carnwennan Pistol (there are some four hundred of her already out in the word due to the IAF015 Hab Dome offer last year!) a noble Knight Errant with cowl and Octa powered sword and lastly a noble with twin Carnwennan Pistols. These are 15mm scale versions of 28mm code IB32 Knight Errants which were requested right from the off for us. As always this code can be bought as a pack or as single miniatures or select the three packs and save 10% option on the page. Go HERE. Price 3.00GBP per pack.

IAF008 Retained Post Charlie

The third post of Retained Knights ready to see off enemies as diverse as the Marcher Barons and the Khanate Empire. Often overseen by Knight Errants and go great with the new release code IAF057. Code IAF008 contains ten different poses all wearing Alwite powered armour and carrying a variety of weapons including Tumbler Mpi, Angis Rifles, Anvil Launchers and Moth Type 12's. As always this code can be bought as a pack or as single miniatures or select the three packs and save 10% option on the page. Go HERE. Price 5.00GBP per pack.

IAF013 Murdo and Galaine

Festive Season Offers during December 2014

This week at the start of December we have made our only new release for the entire month and that means its the last release of the year too. We are taking a few weeks off making new releases (one per week for a year is very impressive I am sure you will agree) but we have a few offers for you too that will last until the end of the month while IMP16 Chrimbot is the free miniature. Here are the details, prices already changed on the website no code needed, and remember while we will continue on the blog and talking there are no more releases until the new year dawns:

IAF041 Corbal Deployable Hardpoint (all codes) 10% Off!

IAF023 Fallen Havelock 10% Off!

IAF032 Fallen Duxis 10% Off!

IAF037 Smashed Adder Combat Car 10% Off!

IAF013 Murdo and Galaine 10% Off!

IAF031 Duxis Drone and Pilot 10% Off!

IAF018 Legionary 3rd Tesseran Maia Mpi 10% Off!

IAF019 Legion 2nd Pioneers Flora 10% Off!

All of these offers are on our Early Supporter Page. Treat yourself during your December order with us.

Information Burst

Its the festive season! Well its early December 2014 and that means a new monthly free miniature IMP16 Crimbo Bot sculpted by Sam Croes. Lovely is it not. Makes you want to destroy all Humans. You can also buy it on its own too during this month and it is well deserving of a place next to . We bid goodbye to the Witch Knight and we will see her again next year in the next collection of IMP miniatures when its released in the summer. She was quite popular and some nice messages from those who put her with the Knight of the Dead it seems they make a good couple! Its last release for the year this week and this pack of Knight Errants is the first of our character packs in 15mm which are not made from parts but rather are total sculpts by Sam Croes making them totally unique. Packed with personality and space opera purpose they will lead your Retained forces with pride. As a bonus offer we have codes at 10% off normal prices for the month to make Christmas a littler sweeter. Lastly a thanks to all who took up the 15mm terrain offers in November it means a lot to us. Finally remember that by placing an order with us you will sign up for an account with the website and that means you get Reward Points in all purchases (plus the monthly free miniature). These points can be used any time to get free products and discounts on orders.

Tuesday, 2 December 2014

I like to pick up anything I see online from bloggers who enjoy our miniatures and one of the blogs I actively follow is from the talented Nick at The Lead Mountain and this week he has been showing off his 15mm Shia Khan Legionaries. The original post is HERE.

Nick is a customer of ours and he really likes our miniatures and terrain. He has used the normal uniform of the Khanate Legion like we do on our own photographs and I think his use of red is outstanding. Really vivid and bright!

If you are keen on seeing more of the Khanate you can find them on our website HERE. The codes in the pictures are IAF018 Legionary 3rd Tesseran (Maia Mpi) and IAF006 Legionary 1st Tesseran (Juno Rifles). Both packs come with poses as pictured. Eight different miniatures.

My own favourite legion code is actually Legionaries with Maia Mpi. Sam Croes did an excellent job on these ones and they almost look like they could actually move on their own..or perhaps its the lack of sleep on my part. In either event well done to Nick! Keep up the good work.

Monday, 1 December 2014

“Its the ending month of the year once again and its time to give Santa Desteria a companion. What would a two metre tall armoured knight delivering presents want in a companion? Well something like him but not like him. Something that can also deliver presents to those who have been nice and give some pain to those who have been naughty. So for all those new to The Ion Age in the last year and to those who have been with us from the start we present the Chrimbot. Its a blast of a miniature too that is in the fine tradition of zany Christmas themed miniatures. We do hope that wargamers love this miniature and its place sixteenth in months since our start. Merry Christmas everyone!”

The IMP16 Chrimbot is December 2014's free miniature which is automatically put into every order at the rate of one per order of any value. It can also be bought in any amount too on the monthly IMP page of the website. On two sets of clanking treads this bot is armed with a Tumber Mpi and an arm holding a bag of presents all topped off with a cheery cap. Heavy armour plate and a festive mood and a perfect companion for Santa Desteria. It stands 15mm tall in one piece. A real robot rouser! This miniature is a fine addition to any 15mm science fiction collection for any game system.

Here are some views of the miniature from different angles:

Of course you earn reward points on all orders too through your account. We realise that some of you may wish to purchase the currently free miniature to get multiples of it without placing a lot of orders so you can do just that. Visit this page on the website for the miniature at a fair price for a special miniature. There is a growing page on the Ion Age website where the current and all former IMP series free miniatures are shown so that you can see what came before. Enjoy and go HERE.

As it is our second year we look back at this time last year and see what the free miniature was at that time. In December 2013 the free miniature was IMP04 Santa Desteria. It was our fourth miniature to be given out free. You can find this miniature in the Year One Collection if you are lacking it.

We want to make the point that we will have only one new release in this month and that will be on Thursday 4th December and no early supporter offer. But that is not to say that we will not be making use of the offers page on the website this year ending month oh no! We will be putting up some offers from our range that will last until the end of the month there which you can pick up if you fancy a treat at 10% off.

Online Fans of the Ion Age

The Ion Age

Near a thousand years has passed since the galaxy brought itself to the brink of extinction in the Wars of the Khanate. Dragon ships burned a thousand worlds and humanity sank to its knees amid the ruins of its once glittering stellar commonwealth. At the battle for the Aldan star system the Ban of Prejudice was lifted and for once the liberated soldiers of the Free Companies stood shoulder to shoulder with the gene soldiers of the sterile Imperial Commonwealth; mankind once more united to stop an overwhelming alien threat. A billion men and woman died fighting and the matter gateway on Aldan IV newly built by the Khanate spewed forth legions from across the galactic plane at a rate that even the fanatical Templars of the Free Companies could not halt. It was then, according to the scorched records of the Starvaulters, that the Templars committed the greatest act of treachery even committed upon the body of humanity; creating the Dolorous Expanses. Whole star systems vanished and were replaced with impenetrable clouds of dust, covering dozens of light years each. An artefact of ancient design in the Aldan system, discovered by the Templars but kept secret, the Dolorous Expanses ended the wars at a stroke. Death and destruction beyond toll, changing the very face of the galaxy and all was still; the Free Companies cast out the Templars and the Imperium retreated into its shattered self. The Khanate...gone…for the time being.

Dark times followed and the fate of mankind looked grim, starvation gained hold and commerce fell to the wayside, as few starships could navigate the Dolorous Expanses and contact with the clouds meant instant obliteration. Inhabited worlds tortured their peoples in desperate acts of accelerated terra-forming; needing the land to feed themselves now that commerce was gone. The once zealot and fanatical Free Companies settled into an agrarian civilisation of fifty worlds bonded loosely by their ruling Barons, those of the Free Companies who had retained the armour and weapons of the mighty Crusader regiments.

On worlds such as New Glastonbury and its orbiting Tor these Barons consolidated their powers and on the whole were good to their people, they needed to be; too much had been lost already. Centuries passed and the region of space containing these green and pleasant worlds became known as the Prydian Precinct. Each stellar system looked to itself for sustenance and as technology returned the mighty starships refined their engines and learned how to use the titanic power of the Ion to generate intense magnetic fields and transport themselves instantly from one system to the next avoiding the deadly 'Dolo Clouds'. The need for a collective leadership became clear once more.

The core systems of Prydian space elected a council of Barons, who became the Aeddan's, to lead them and from among their number a titular head was chosen; a king to act on the behalf of all. To prevent the possible imperial ambitions of the past no standing army was allowed to be in the hands of the Aeddan Council or the King who resided on New Glastonbury. Each system would tend to its own needs to fend off pirates and mercenaries who did not respect the King's laws. Allotted to the Aeddan and the King were the million strong Starvaulters, an armed retinue to police the Prydian Precinct, but with no authority or desire to interfere with the Barons and their worlds; their impartiality was all that kept a vital respect for their judgements in matters the Barons could not agree upon.

For a time this arrangement worked and then war once more threatened the worlds of the Prydian Precinct, and war required troops. Millions of soldiers dressed once more in the augmented armour of their forefathers once more took to the field of battle on a hundred planets and countless orbiters and asteroids. It was in war that disaster fell, King Cyon III was killed, and he left his infant daughter in his place. A mere babe could not administer the needs of the Aeddan and their billions of charges, a guardianship was needed. The duty fell to Reckart Nevall a mighty Baron known as the 'Kingmaker' but his guardianship was not greeted by all with joy, over the fifteen years that followed two great camps grew within Prydian space and the Aeddan council split in twain.

A minor Baron whose world Kendal III was poor but populous brought the building tension to a head. Baron Kacj Dace rebelled against a judgement of the Starvaulters and called upon the Marcher Barons of the outer systems of Prydian space to assist him. This they did, seeing the Starvaulters as nothing more than Nevall's retinue to ensure his false control of the Aeddan Council. Naming themselves the League of Canlaster they elected Prince Edmund Bluefort as their rightful heir to the crown of Prydia and attacked Kendal III destroying the small force of Starvaulters on the planet. This single act ignited a civil war, a conflict the largest seen by the worlds of Prydian space for centuries. Nevall reacted with rage and called on the support of his own Marcher Barons to control the now teenage Princess Daphne Cyon and the throne she represented. He headed the League of Yordan named for his home world. The first battle of the Prydian Civil War was fought on Kendal III, many more soon followed. An elite strike force of Starvaulters stole Princess Cyon from Nevall's grasp and spirited her away to New Glastonbury where they now reside in force.

It is now the twelfth year of the Civil War and after suffering terrible setbacks and defeats the white and red uniformed troops of the Prydian Army have gained new vigour and are pushing the Leagues to their limit.Led by the veterans of the Starvaulters and driven by the Code Gallant the now adult Princess Daphne Cyon has promised to liberate each and every world in the Precinct and return it to the safe holding of the Addan Council.This she is doing to great effect and none in the Leagues seem able to prevent the cheering crowds and the flocking to the banners of the Addan.The Civil War might be nearing its end and for many this cannot come soon enough.

Rumours abound about the ever increasing numbers of Muster and Retained along with some of the shining lights of the Starvaulters being sent to the remote Carmarthen star cluster.Some have hinted that perhaps the Leagues are not the prime threat to Prydia and something else, something terrible lurks at the edge of Precinct space.An ancient enemy that all the preparation and new vitality of the Prydian Army may not be able to halt.

Do you want to liberate worlds held by the Marcher Barons or resist the advance of the Prydian Army? Or do you dream and fear of what is occurring in the remote Carmarthen star cluster?